The concert audience marched while concert chairs were cleared for the contra dance.
Credit: DAN MILLBAUER
Chickering piano specialist Jim Ialeggio restored the instrument and attended the event. Between the concert and the dance, he was called into service to make some necessary internal adjustments.
Credit: DAN MILLBAUER
Chickering piano specialist Jim Ialeggio restored the instrument and attended the event. Between the concert and the dance, he was called into service to make some necessary internal adjustments.
Credit: DAN MILLBAUER
Andy Davis played the Chickering piano to close out the concert portion of the program while Laurie Indenbaum played the fiddle. (Davis filled in at the last minute for scheduled pianist Larry Seigel who had fallen ill).
Credit: DAN MILLBAUER
Peterborough select board member Bonnie Tucker and husband Bruce Tucker led the audience in a march around the Town House as concert chairs were removed for the contra dancing.
Credit: DAN MILLBAUER
Cynthia Jacelon and John Ridgway waltzed as the program transitioned from piano concert to contra dance.
Credit: DAN MILLBAUER
Laurie Indenbaum and Andy Davis played several waltzes and marches by the late contra dance legend Bob McQuillen to transition the program from piano concert to contra dance.
Credit: DAN MILLBAUER
Ben Cosgrove played several original compositions.
Credit: DAN MILLBAUER
The event program and attentive audience at the Peterborough Town House.
Credit: DAN MILLBAUER
Ben Cosgrove played several original compositions.
Credit: DAN MILLBAUER
Vladimir Odinokikh and Cheryl Sharrock played Johannesburg Brahms selections to accompany the Monadnock Chorus (directed by Dr. Sandra Howard).
Credit: DAN MILLBAUER

A restored Chickering grand piano made its public debut Sunday during a community celebration at the Peterborough Town House.

The event, hosted by the Monadnock Folklore Society and the town of Peterborough, featured an afternoon of live performances by local musicians, followed by a contra dance in the evening. The historic piano, originally built in the 1890s and gifted to the town in 1918, recently underwent an 11-month restoration.

Organizers said the celebration highlighted both the instrument’s historical significance and its continued role in the town’s cultural life. The restoration project, funded through grants and donations, aimed to preserve the piano for future community events and performances.

Ryann Brooks is the Ledger-Transcript editor. She was the 2023 Kansas Press Association Journalist of the Year. You can contact her at rbrooks@ledgertranscript.com.